Movie Monday: La Bohème (1926)
The movie poster for La Bohème (1926)
You can purchase this classic film here.
Welcome to the first ever #MovieMonday! Today we will be reviewing and discussing the fashion of La Bohème (1926). I love watching the silent films TCM’s (Turner Classic Films) show on Sunday evenings so when I saw that this movie would be shown on the network a couple of weeks ago I was sure to watch it! WARNING: if you have not already seen this film and would like to keep the ending a secret, read this after you have watched the film.
The silent classic is based on Giacomo Puccini’s Italian opera, under the same name as the movie, which was inspired by Henri Murger’s novel La Vie de Bohème (1851). This film follows the story of a group of starving artists who live in Paris, France of the 1830s. Rodolphe (played by John Gilbert) lives next door to Mimi (played by Lillian Gish) in an apartment with several friends. Trying to survive a particularly tough winter, Rodolphe and Mimi cross paths and Mimi becomes a permanent part of Rodolphe’s group of friends. While each struggling artist look after one another, Rodolphe and Mimi soon fall in love.
Their relationship inspires Rodolphe to write a new play causing him to lose the only job he had as a writer that paid him wages. Despite their strong bond, Rodolphe’s jealous streak gets the best of him when a wealthy, aristocrat Vicomte Paul (played by Roy D’Arcy) visits Mimi to purchase some of the clothes she is designing. It is clear to everyone, especially Rodolphe, that Vicomte is attracted to Mimi. When Rodolphe’s anger boils over, he breaks up with Mimi. This eventually causes Mimi to leave her apartment so Rodolphe can become successful with the play she inspired.
After some time, Rodolphe’s play becomes the success Mimi desired it to be, but Rodolphe feels the absence Mimi left in his life. Meanwhile, Mimi is working hard in a textile factory causing her to become weak and ill. She collapses and a doctor tells her she will not survive the night. With pure love and determination, Mimi makes the long track back to Rodolphe. Finally back at her old apartment where she first met her love, Mimi passes away.
SPOILER: The breathtaking final scene
*None of these photos are mine.*
Now lets get into the really good stuff! I LOVED this film! John Gilbert has been my favorite silent movie actor since I saw him in The Big Parade (1925) on TCM. The casting for this movie was so perfect, Lillian Gish and John Gilbert balanced each other out so well. Lillian Gish, who was later dubbed the First Lady of American Cinema, used her stunning eyes to portray Mimi as sweet but determined. John Gilbert, like in many of his films, sways his character’s emotion with the wind, causing the audience to share in his pain, joy, anguish, and excitement. During the gripping scene when Rodolphe breaks up with Mimi, I found myself being completely taken in by these characters. It felt like a great tragedy that they would ever end their relationship! Overall, this film gets five stars, 10/10, two thumbs, however you want to measure it, I give it full points and this film is now one of my favorites!
Now onto Mimi’s fashion!
None of these photos are mine.
Lillian Gish’s character in La Bohème, Mimi, is an aspiring fashion designer and based on the costumes used throughout this film, Mimi has great taste! I can see how some of the stylistic choices (the ruffled sleeves, the middle hair part, along with the top knot bun that appears throughout the movie) have carried on to the choices many of us make today. There were also several pieces that seemed to be a staple throughout other time eras, too. Mimi’s muffler was a popular choice for women of the 1930s and 40s, the hoop skirt reminds me of a poodle skirt you would see in any 1950s outfit, and the dress she wore to the opera with Vicomte Paul screams Victorian era. Honestly, I could see Mimi’s opera choice being a great choice for something like the Met Gala or the Cannes Film Festival. Bravo to the costumer designer for this film! I know in 1926 flapper girls were all the rage and it must have been hard to resist adding some of that flare to the film, but I feel this La Bohème‘s costume choices were ahead of their time and truly helped this film stay relevant throughout the remaining decades and even to this day.
Well, that is all for my review of La Bohème. I hope to have a video also reviewing this film on my YouTube channel soon. Once I get that taken care of, I will upload the link here to this post so you all can watch it! Thank you for reading and I will see you back here again next #MovieMonday!
Much Love,
Sarah
